The present invention relates to a silicon nitride film formed on a substrate with a strain point of 700° C. or less and to a semiconductor device containing a semiconductor element and semiconductor integrated circuit, typical example of field effect type transistor using the silicon nitride film.
In the display device using liquid crystals and electroluminescence (abbreviated to as EL), a technique has been developed that driving circuit is formed as one using the field effect type thin film transistor (abbreviated to as TFT) on the same glass substrate. In the TFT, in order to realize practical operating frequency, a polycrystalline silicon film is used for active layer (semiconductor region that channel part is formed) that is its key component part. Furthermore, by realizing the additional high-speed operation, the concept of system on panel that the integrated circuit having various functions such as image processor and memory as well as microprocessor is realized through TFT is proposed.
Needless to say, not only the polycrystalline silicon film but also an insulating film is used in each region such as a gate insulating film and an insulating film and the like to separate and insulate between wirings, which are incorporated to form integrated circuit. Depending on the material used for each region, the characteristic to be required is differed. In gate insulating film, it is required to be less defect, low leak current, and interface defect level concentration and the like is low. As for a protective film, the characteristic to prevent invasion of, especially, alkali ion and the like is necessary with respect to impurity. Accordingly, there are various usages.
Relating to wiring, with the development of high integration, it is possible to apply the current in a higher concentration than aluminum, and technique using a copper of a high tolerance with respect to an electromigration as a wiring material has been developed.
In the insulating film, it is required that there is no pinhole and the like, cure and in low defect concentration, not including fixed electric, and to be good in adhesives with the base. Furthermore, in order to improve the performance of the transistor with the configuration of element, it is necessary to improve the gate driving capacity by making the gate insulating film thin. Therefore, a cure insulating film that does not increase the gate leak current is required.
As a method to form an insulating film, a CVD method that is a chemical film formation method and a sputtering method that is a physical film formation method are known. In the CVD method, as a parameter classifying it, there are pressure of during film formation, flow of gas to be supplied, energy for promoting chemical reaction, and the like, and there are thermal CVD method under normal atmosphere or decompression, plasma CVD method using plasma, and the like; which have characteristic in each and are used depending on the purposes.